Yes could we hope to our polish friends in the translating of this text?
I’ll read the document and try to translate the most important framgents.
Remember that it refers to the victims of soviet persecutions only.
Kovalski, any luck? 
Sorry for the delay Egorka, I’ll try to do this today after work.
By the way, I’ve met few friends from the university on saturday. I asked them about the most possible number of deported, and about inaccuracy of the numbers.
I mentioned the “Karta Center” (320.000) and above webpage (1.7 million).
I was told that:
- the numbers of “Karta Center” are absolutely confirmed (by name, surname etc.),
- but we have to be aware that when a whole family was being deported, only the head (father) of that family was registered. Other (wife, sons, daughters, etc.) were not put into the register.
I was told that the most accurate number of Poles deported in 1939-41 by the Soviets is around 1.000.000.
Pozdrawiam,
Kovalski
Kovalski, sounds great!
By the way, I’ve met few friends from the university on saturday. I asked them about the most possible number of deported, and about inaccuracy of the numbers.
I mentioned the “Karta Center” (320.000) and above webpage (1.7 million).
I was told that:
- the numbers of “Karta Center” are absolutely confirmed (by name, surname etc.),
Kovalski, IMO, you managed to be both correct and wrong at the same time!
Not all of the “Karta” numbers are confirmed “by name”. That is their goal to do so. If you examine the table you will find this info in columns 2 and 3. As I understand, 170.000 out of 320.000 has been identified by names.
Actually number 320.000 comes not from the name lists, but from the documents for each train that was used to transport the deportiees.
- but we have to be aware that when a whole family was being deported, only the head (father) of that family was registered. Other (wife, sons, daughters, etc.) were not put into the register.
I was told that the most accurate number of Poles deported in 1939-41 by the Soviets is around 1.000.000.
I have to say I doubt that. But since I can not recall reading a specific paragraph saying otherwise I will double check it.
As a quick comment there are at least 2 reasons for this to wrong (that only heads of families was counted without wifes and children):
[ul]
[li]Depending on the period families were transported together. Therefore people were provided with food on the way. All of them, not only adult males. For this amount of people in the train had to be known including wifes and children.[/li][li]Poland before WW2 had the absolute highest population grougth in Europe. I have to check at home the exact number of children per family in Poland in 1930th, but it got to be more than 3 - 4 children per family.[/li][/ul]
So if the number 320.000 was only for the adult males, then the deporties number could be estimated to be
adult_males + wifes + children = 320.000 + 250.000 + 250.000 * 3.5 = 1.445.000 deporties
That is very close to the fictive number that floats around since old days.
I will check the family data for Poland tonight. There were few paragraphs about it in the book “Towns and people of modern Poland” by McBride, Robert Medill, New York, 1938.
[ul]Depending on the period families were transported together. Therefore people were provided with food on the way. All of them, not only adult males. For this amount of people in the train had to be known including wifes and children.
[li]Poland before WW2 had the absolute highest population grougth in Europe. I have to check at home the exact number of children per family in Poland in 1930th, but it got to be more than 3 - 4 children per family.
[/li][/ul]
I have to add if the deported poles were povided with food on the way the wrong calculation only males) this could lead to famine in its way.
The one hand is to feed the 300 000 and another hand 1-1.2 mln peoples.
You will laugh, but the data on quantity of Poles, which were moved from the Western Belarus and the Western Ukraine, the first Guryanov has resulted not, but A.J.Vyshinsky - 388 thousand.
And Poles now with this figure agree. 
Ok, here is the split between the heads of family and the family members.
The info is from this article developed by the “Memorial” rights watch group (Karta bases it’s work on this information: “Skuteczność programu możliwa jest przede wszystkim dzięki współpracy ze Stowarzyszeniem Memoriał w Rosji i innymi środowiskami w kraju i za granicą.”).
There is a table in the article that has the info split per area (voevodstvo).
For deportations during 1940:
West Belorussia:
Osadniki: 50.683
Family members: 27.279
Special category (refuge category): 23.764
West Ukraina:
Osadniki: 88.385
Family members: 29.012
Special category (refuge category): 51.503
Grand Total: 270.626
The data is based on app. 98% of all the trains that carried the deportiees. So it is rather accurate.
So family members (i.e. women and children) were counted. I personally did not doudt that it was, but I guess it was not enough to convince you, Kovalski.
I think it is necessary to remember about 150000 Ukrainians in Eastern Poland who were deported by Polish and Soviet security services during the operation Visla. It was done to crack down the activities of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in Poland.
Welcome Kato,
I think that it would be good to create a separated thread for this topic.
Pozdrawiam,
Kovalski
Kovalski! How is it going with the translation of the conclusion of the Karta report? Sorry for bugging you…
Erhhhh… you mean “soviet persecutions” like commited by USSR’s citizens?
So the persecution commited by a native Polish communists do not count in the number?
Is that is what you mean, Kovalski?
Yes mate.
http://www.indeks.karta.org.pl/represje_sowieckie_10.html
The title:
“Indeks represjonowanych.
Centrum informacji o obywatelach polskich represjonowanych w ZSRR”
Translation:
The index of repressed.
The information center about polish citizens opressed in USSR."
THe authors mean “soviet opressions”.
The index refers only to the victims of NKVD, Red Army etc.
The number of victims of polish Security Service (Urzad Bezpieczenstwa), Military Information Service (Informacja Wojskowa), Militia (Milicja), etc. is not included.
"THE SUMMARY
The actual state of knowledge about the scale of soviet repressions we gathered in a table drawing back an index of the basic data (page 33). These are estimated numbers (except the exact number of shot POWs) determined by the historians in the research, the second column contains the number of people who’s personal data were confirmed by name in the „Index of Repressioned”; last column – estimated numbers possible to such verification with taking all sources into account, about which existence the KARTA Center is absolutely sure (nevertheless during the research it turns out that not all sources are available, and other sources contain the data ablut different people.
We didn’t took into account the repressions against Poles which took place before WW2, because they weren’t verified. Even the basic archival research wasn’t undertaken. Such research should be done in future and include at least the most drastic atrocities of 1937-38.
The summaric number of Poles and polish citizens repressioned by the USSR after 17th of September 1939 – 570.387 – is slightly higher than in the KARTA report published 2 years ago. It is more exact approximation, but it is still estimated number, which is going to change together with the research’s developement. But it seems that these changes will not be significant.
The first category of repressioned shown in the table – the POWs and interned in 1939 (including the POW released after few weeks and transferred to the Germans till December 1939) – is simultaneously almost fully documented group. As a result of “Index”’s work, 41.457 POWs were verified and confirmed by name. Some inconsiderable corrections will be carried out in this group in future. Documenting the fate of arrested in Eastern Areas of Poland during the first soviet occupation (second category) it is far less advanced.
The accessibility of sources is much worse here. Even if they are accessible, they are not complete. It takes place in case of category of rehabilitated (volume VI; Arrested in Lwow and Drohobycz, and already being prepared list of arrested in Western Belarus) – the access to list of all arrested and convicted, not only these who were rehabilitated in last 10 years, seems to be impossible.
The list of prisoners who after conviction were transported to Workuta area is exceptionally complete; nevertheless is the only departure from the rules used in the “Index”. The division of repressions takes place according to the first form of oppression.
The basic category in that case: arrested in the given area; but the prisoner of Workuta one could become in different ways. Nevertheless that form of documentation of arrested gives the chance of final research of one’s fate, and exactly that list had plenty of information.
That’s why we plan another list: polish prisoners arrested after 17th of September of 1939 and held in camp of Archangielsk area (according to archives made accessible in Archangielsk). In “arrested in the Eastern Areas of Poland” category, research’s prospects are dependent of Soviet sources, and it mya turn out that they are much bigger than estmated number presented in the table.
Another category: „Deported in 194-41” is another group of repressioned, which becomes the primary task of the “Index of repressioned”. Although polish archives posses plenty of individual info about deported, they are not complete. In order to verify them, Soviet sources are needed – some of them were found.
The research in that category is already carried out, but no list have been publish yet (the data prepared to publication are included in the table).
Until today we gain access to data about approximately 56 thousands of deported to Archangielsk area (together with children born in exile) – Archive of Internal Affairs Office in Archangielsk; 20 thousands were deported to Komi Republic - Archive of Internal Affairs Office in Syktywkara; 11 thousands deported to molotovski area (Perm) - Archive of Internal Affairs Office in Perm/ These data are verified with the polish sources. So, we will be able to present the fate of about 87 thousands. The fate of next 80 thousands seems possible to verification.
In nearest future we plan the research of archives of Archive of Internal Affairs Office in Wologda, where we will get the data of 14 thousands of deported to Wologda area. The recognized archives in other parts of Russia give us the chance of gaining the data about another 27 thousands of deported to Swierdlowsk area, 9 thousands deported to Omsk area, and also a part of 26 thousands deported to Novosybirsk area (which were kept in narymsk area, and later in tomsk area). The biggest diffiulties we have in gaining the acces to sources about deported in April 1940 to Kazachstan.
The number of next category: „arrested in 1941-44” – is estimated for 3 thousands. The verification of that data is dependent on access to archives of each camp; it is very difficult and doesn’t give a chance to complete the info. The “Index” verified only the tiny number of people, who were sent to camps in Workuta area.
The repressions which occured since January 1944 covered over 90 thousands - 42 thousands were interned, 50 thousands were arrested and deported (the estmated numer are given in the table). Till today the data about 20.178 interned persons were listed and verified (imprisoned without the trial), so about a half of internet Poles and polish citizens taken away to USSR in 1944-45. About 16 thousands of them were imprisoned becasue they were members of AK and other independence military organizations, this is about 80% of all interned on a charge o that.
The documentation of that group is the primary objective of the „Index”. The research of this category is cerried out. It includes people taken away from Poland in 1945 to 3 camps in molotowski and Swiedrlowsk area. The last large group of AK members interned in USSR was among these people (over 1100); they haven’t been verfied yet. Small groups of polish freedom fighters dispersed in small numbers in many different camps will not be researched in nearest future.
In case of arrested in 1944, 5690 persons imprisoned in camps of Workuta were verified. We plan to gain the access to documents reffering to camps in Archangielsk, Irkuck, kiemierowski areas, and in Krasnojarski Country and Komi Republic.
The method we used in „Index of Repressioned” seems to be effective.
I this way we are able to determine the fate of lots of people, including these, who’s story Soviet Union attempted to neutralize. Thanks to that method we can also check the reliability of a scret statistic data, what allows us to discover the scale of atrocities.
If the KARTA Center will have the possibility to continue the research at rate it worked in 2002 – before 2010 we will be able to document the repressions in scale, which was estimated in the third column. Describing by name the fate of almost a half of repressed in USSR would give us a knowledge, which was unbelieveable 10 years ago. The effect of our research is the information center, which can be described as the “national memory monument”.
The KARTA Center would like to thank all institutions, which financial support made the “Index” research possible.:
National Memory Institute
Science Research Comitee
Polish Science Foundation (which support research in th East)"
Pozdrawiam,
Kovalski
Once again, Thanks man for the translation!!!